Best fantasy football strategy?

Question

I don't know football very well but since all my friends do, I always get roped into joining their fantasy football leagues. Now, the only way I can compete with them is to go out of the norm and do something ridiculous and hope it works.

Example: Last year my first five picks: Tom Brady, Payton Manning, Carson Palmer, Donavan Mcnabb, Brett Favre.

After the draft everyone realized there teams were weak because they had no quarterback. I got trade offers left and right and had one of my friends who wouldn't cheat me in the league help me decide which to take.

I traded away all but Brett Favre, then rode Brett Favre into a nice solid 3rd place.

I just don't want to embarrass myself this year, so I'm looking for another cheap strategy to not stick me in last place, because I know people will be looking for the quarterback one.

Answer 1

Two options.

Option 1: Draft 2 RB a QB and a WR in the first 4 rounds. Try to compile a list of sleepers for later rounds. Example i got Randy Moss last year after 12 WR were already taken. After the preliminary rounds your team should start to fall into place.

Option 2: Create a second account and a second team in the same league. Then trade all the good players from one team to the other. This might not work if its only your friends in the league.

Answer 2

Don't pick Quarterbacks early! Just look at your 1st 5 picks, the last one you picked turned out to have a great year and a better one than 3/4 of your top ones. For that reason pick your RB's and WR's first unless you find an early value. I would go RB RB WR WR then QB unless you can get good value. In some leagues I am tempted to pick 3 RBS before I get my Quarterback. The difference between an elite and average quarterback in fantasy terms is not significant. Besides mayb Tom Brady because of that offense and his talent. So go RBs first then WR and then QB

Answer 3

don't commit to gimmicks.  

for beginners, this is my advice:

the first thing to consider is your playoff schedule.  if your super bowl is in week 17, you don't want to count on players from the colts, pats, or cowboys.  there's a good chance they'll all be sitting on the sideline, getting ready for their playoff run.  if your super bowl is week 16, draft whoever.

stay away from rookie WRs and QBs.  look for guys on teams with limited offensive weapons.  look at youth, stay away from old players.  old players might have a history of doing well, but old players get hurt.

work the waiver wire.  that's where you win.

Answer 4

That strategy will work occassionally.

It's best to start with RB RB.  Then you hav to look at the available players after that.  Most people will tell you to go WR after this, but I prefer QB then WR.  It just depends on what's left after the 2nd round.  Ya know, if you pick a good RB in round 1 then have the last pick in RD 2 and the best RB is Mike Turner from ATL with Manning or Brady on the board.  Go for Brady or Manning.  It's really conditional.

Answer 5

The best draft strategy depends on the size of your league, your scoring system, and how well you know the tendencies of your fellow league members.  It's difficult to give specific advice without knowing these details.

That said, here's a few tips you may find useful:

1.  The top tier of RBs and the top tier of WRs typically give you a greater advantage over opponents than a top tier QB does.  The dropoff from the #1 RB to the #10 RB in terms of points is much more significant than the dropoff from the #1 QB to the #10 QB.  It's okay to focus on RBs and WRs first and wait a few rounds on a QB.

2.  Gimmicky draft strategies like you used last year rarely work more than once since the league now knows to watch out for it.  Besides, why bother taking a third QB that early just so you can trade him for a RB you might have been able to draft with that pick anyway?

3.  Watch out for the "return to average."  That is, watch for the star player who had an inexplicably bad season last year.  Odds are, he'll bounce back.  He may be undervalued.  Also, the guy that had a career statistical performance last season will fall back to earth, and may be perceived as a disappointment even though he still may have a "good" year.  (e.g.  Brady will probably do well, but I guarantee you he won't match last year's numbers.)

4.  The only universal rule in fantasy football:  never draft a kicker before the last round.  They are too unpredictable from year to year to justify spending a higher pick.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Here is DEFINITELY the best strategy.

Round 1 - RB

Round 2 - WR (RB works okay here sometimes,but the best decision is for a WR; remember, there are a lot of RB's who score high, not so much WR who score high; You have the TO's and Randy Moss's who get ~15 (or 23) TD's, and then you have the smaller guys who only get like 8 TD's, yet are considered good fantasy WR)

Round 3 - WR or RB (I like to take a WR here, for pretty much the same reason as the Round 2 choice, but if you see solid WR who will be left in Round 4, and see a nice RB on the board, go ahead)

Round 4 - RB (I found Marshawn Lynch in Round 4 last year)

Round 5 - WR or Backup RB (Make sure if you take the RB; he doesn't have the same bye week as your other two)

Round 6 - Backup of one of these two

And you continue this pattern until you see a really solid QB like Cutler or Leinart (etc..) in Round 8 or so,give or take.  You can find some real steals here, yet have fantastic WR and RB cores.

The TE can come in soon, and last 2 rounds should be DEF and K, or in my case, I just draft a K and then spot-start my Kicker depending on who's on FA and whothey are playing.  (EG: If the Saints are playing the worst defense in the NFL and Olindo Mare is on FA, take him).

Good luck!

PS: (I applied this strategy last year and got 2nd place out of 10, the final was a fluke haha; I SHOULD have won)